It rents for $3300 a month but with taxes, insurance, HOA, PM, maintenance and vacancy % expenses, it only cash flows $1950.

Plus it looks like he is in an expensive California market with newer housing stock.

Limit expenses?

You will have to pay all the usual expenses associated with buying a property: transfer taxes, government fees, title company/attorney costs, as well as a "hammer fee" which goes to the auction house.In theory yes, you could win something for a few thousand dollars.

The Average comps is $1700 According to the rent calculator on bigger pockets.

One way to reduce your living expenses and accumulate equity is to rent out one property while you're a student and both units once you graduate.Another great option in Pearland is house hacking.

We have rented this property for 10.5 years, averaging around $3,250/month in rental income.

@Darian Gore Here are the things that many CPAs support their clients with:Understanding tax impact of short-term vs. long-term vs. flip before you buyWhich entity structure is best for goals and investment property typeTax and compliance on LLC or S-CorpHow to transfer property out of personal name into LLC (hard to buy 1st through entity)Ways to optimize taxes throughout the yearHow best to set up accounting to track income and expenses (doing this late is a mess)Feedback on property management systems, accounting systems. systems, etcEstimated payments to avoid penaltiesKnowing when to file and getting things in on timeMaybe a few things I missed, but this is the high-level ….. if you can get answers to the above questions on your own, plan, and file your own taxes then you can avoid the expense of a CPA.

I heard that families with small kids prefer one story homes because of children safety, that is why I am not sure if investing in a two story home is a good option even if it may be a less expensive option.

It's worth the upfront expense.